The invention concerns an apparatus for producing juice from a layer of fruit mash, which is arranged between circulating screening belts of a screening belt press, wherein the screening belts are guided around drums or rollers of at least one pressing zone jointly forming a meander-like pressing path.
Such an apparatus for producing juice is to be found for example in German laid-open application (DE-OS) No 35 07 502, comprising a screening belt press and pressing zones. The pressing zones are disposed upstream of a discharge gap
drums in mutually in which are disposed a plurality of displaced relationship which guide two screening belts. The diameters of the drums decrease in the direction of conveying movement.
Juice extraction apparatuses are known having pressing zones with very high pressing pressures, which the respective press can provide and to which the fruit mash is exposed after it has already been put into a stable condition in respect of pressing, by virtue of substantial extraction of juice. Screening belts with the fruit mash enclosed therebetween are usually guided in the pressing zone around stationary pressing rollers of the smallest possible diameter, as a small roller diameter involves a high pressing pressure.
In regard to juice extraction in relation to various foodstuffs, in particular apples, the important consideration is essentially achieving the highest possible juice yield by virtue of a slow and continuous rise in pressure applied to the fruit mash from which juice is to be extracted.
With knowledge of that state of the art, the inventor set himself the aim of so improving an apparatus of the kind discussed above that it provides a higher yield and also makes it possible to save on one or other of the rollers.